The Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah revealed a “vast network of advanced tunnels” along the Israeli-Lebanese border to a pro-Hezbollah newspaper on Friday. The network consists of “a sprawling underground array of tunnels, bunkers and surveillance outposts along the border with Israel, which [Hezbollah] is manning at peak readiness for battle.” Israeli officials toldThe New York Times earlier this month that Hezbollah has moved the bulk of its military infrastructure into Shiite villages in southern Lebanon. A senior Israeli intelligence official told the Associated Press that Hezbollah has approximately 100,000 rockets that can strike targets in northern Israel, thousands of rockets capable of hitting Tel Aviv, and several hundred that can reach anywhere in the country. The official estimated that 200 Shiite villages in southern Lebanon have been converted into “military strongholds.” In a December 2013 analysis, Israeli journalist Ron Ben-Yishai wrote that Hezbollah has promised to assist poor Shiite villagers “on the condition that at least one rocket launcher would be placed in one of the house's rooms or in the basement, along with a number of rockets, which will be fired at predetermined targets in Israel when the order is given.” In its piece earlier this month, The New York Times quoted a senior Israeli military official as saying, “The civilians are living in a military compound…We will hit Hezbollah hard, while making every effort to limit civilian casualties as much as we can”; however, he continued, “we do not intend to stand by helplessly in the face of rocket attacks.”

The Palestinian Authority rejected compromise terms that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined for restarting peace talks with Israel, The Times of Israel reported today. An earlier report in the Times characterized Netanyahu's terms for renewed negotiations with the Palestinians, which would involve territorial concessions and the delineation of boundaries between Israel and a Palestinian state, as "a marked departure from his long-held stance." Netanyahu made his proposal for the renewed peace talks in a meeting with European Union High Representative Frederica Mogherini last week. Citing the Israeli daily Haaretz, the Times reported that "Mogherini was 'very satisfied' with her meeting with Netanyahu and defined it a success." American-sponsored peace talks ended last year when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused to accept a framework agreement presented by the United States, signed fifteen international agreements in an effort to achieve achieve statehood outside of bilateral negotiations (the premise of the peace process since at least 1993), and then announced a unity government with the terrorist group Hamas, which rejects Israel's right to exist. (via The Tower)

Stuttering is not considered a disability, yet it holds back some 68 million people worldwide from job promotions, class presentations, voicing their opinions and a whole slew of other daily life experiences. An Israeli mobile app could now empower people who stutter to rise above their often overlooked condition using the world’s first stuttering detection algorithm. “Almost 80 percent of employers will not hire a stutterer, even for jobs that the stutterer doesn’t need to speak. Add to that, 60 percent of kids who stutter are bullied,” Yair Shapira, founder & CEO of NiNiSpeech, tells ISRAEL21c. NiNiSpeech is a mobile health solution that helps people who stutter (PWS) maintain fluent speech, and allows speech-language pathologists (SLP) to monitor their clients’ fluency in everyday settings. “The secret that most people don’t know is that almost all stutterers can speak fluently. When they’re alone in a room, they speak fluently. When they’re in the clinic, they speak fluently. The problem happens that when they’re in the real world, 85% lapse back into stuttering,” Shapira tells ISRAEL21c. The Haifa-based startup, launched in January, has already picked up a handful of innovation awards and has sparked interest from around the globe. Clinical trials are beginning in four countries. The mobile solution, which will cost $50 to $100 monthly, provides the stutterer with immediate feedback on speech fluency via a buzz or vibration that operates in real-time and works in a variety of languages. The technology gives the stutterer a chance to monitor performance, improve fluency, achieve speech goals and gain rewards. The second stage of the solution, unique in the field, measures stuttering. (via Israel21c)